What we look for

At the Council of Europe, we are looking for talented professionals, from diverse backgrounds, who share our vision and values. In order to be successful here, you will need to be comfortable working in a truly multi-cultural environment, and have excellent interpersonal and communication skills. Are you ready for the challenge?

In our vacancy notices you will find a list of the specific criteria required for each role, including eligibility requirements, essential competencies and desirable competencies.

General Eligibility Requirements

As an international organisation, we have certain restrictions on who we can employ. In order to be eligible to work at the Council of Europe, you must typically fulfil the following requirements:

Nationality: In order to work at the Council of Europe, you must be a national of one of our 47 member States.

Age: You must be aged below the compulsory retirement age of 65 to apply.

Languages: The CoE has two official languages, French and English. We generally require excellent knowledge of one of these languages, plus good knowledge of the other (although exact requirements will vary according to the role). Other European languages may be required in certain cases, or be an advantage.

Specific Requirements

Depending on the nature of the job, there will be specific criteria you will need to meet in order to be shortlisted or selected. These include:

Competencies and core values: The core values and competencies of our staff lie at the heart of our human resources policy. Our Competency Framework and Core Values identify and describe the knowledge, skills, attitudes, values and behaviour which we need to successfully fulfil our mission and we therefore base our recruitment procedures around this. Essential competencies define the competencies that are indispensable for the role, while desirable competencies define those attributes that would help to be successful, but are not essential. Refer to the vacancy notice for a more precise list of the competencies required for each specific role.

Experience and Qualifications: Given the varying types of jobs we offer, other requirements (such as professional experience, qualifications, linguistic and IT skills) differ according to each job and can therefore be found in more detail in the specific vacancy announcements.

Requirements by staff category

Administrative Officers (grade A1 to A2)

Candidates for posts or positions in category A, which comprises staff members engaged in professional and/or managerial duties, must have a suitable higher education degree or qualification (2nd cycle of the Bologna process framework of qualifications for the European Higher Education Area). Appointments are made at grade A1 or A2, depending on experience.

Administrative Assistants (grades B4 to B6)

External recruitment at this level mainly concerns qualified specialists such as IT assistants, documentalists, laboratory technicians, etc. Candidates must have successfully completed a course of advanced secondary education, possess appropriate professional qualifications and usually have at least two to five years' experience in a relevant field of activity. Also the tasks and responsibilities in this category vary considerably, they often involve the supervision of tasks and teams.

Support staff (grade B1 to B3)

Very good knowledge of either English or French (official languages of the Council of Europe), and a good level of the other is required. For vacancy notices requiring mother tongue level of other European languages, a very good knowledge of at least one of the official languages of the Council (English/French) is required. A full-time secretarial college course diploma (UK), a BTS (France) or equivalent (other countries) may be required. Previous clerical experience and ability to use IT tools are also needed.

Translators (category LT)

English or French mother tongue. Excellent knowledge of the other official language. Good knowledge of at least one other European language (preferably German, Italian, Spanish, Russian or another Eastern European language). Relevant higher education degree, qualificationor training. Considerable translation experience.

Interpreters (category LI)

Perfect knowledge and pronunciation of both English and French, plus a very good knowledge of German, Italian, Spanish or another language from Central and Eastern Europe. Relevant higher education degree, qualification or training. Professional experience of at least six months in an international organisation.

Technical staff (grade C1 to C6)

Staff in this category are normally recruited locally and relevant competitions are organised as and when required. A relevant professional qualification may be required.